BREEAM continues global growth with new collaboration for the US market

BRE, the world’s leading authority on all aspects of the built environment, has today announced the further expansion of BREEAM in partnership with BuildingWise, the award-winning US-based LEED certification consultancy, to create BREEAM USA.

BREEAM is the internationally recognised measure of sustainability for buildings and communities and operates in more than 70 countries. Over 530,000 certificates have been issued under BREEAM on more than 24,000 projects around the world, and over 2.2 million buildings and communities are registered for certification.

The collaboration with BuildingWise provides BRE with a platform on which to further develop BREEAM in the USA, where the focus will be on the BREEAM In-Use standard. There are currently 5.6 million existing commercial buildings in the US that are not currently benchmarking their sustainability efforts using a scientifically-based green building certification.

BuildingWise CEO Barry Giles said, “We are so excited to finally bring BREEAM to the US to open up the option for many of the existing buildings in this country that don’t currently use a building certification program because the available systems are seen as cumbersome, expensive and require prerequisites that many buildings find impossible to achieve.”

“We are delighted to announce the official launch of BREEAM USA,” commented Gavin Dunn, Global Director of BREEAM. “BREEAM has massive potential in the USA – many of their existing buildings are not equipped for the future and underperform against their potential, wasting resources and unnecessarily impacting the environment. BREEAM USA will help us to address this. It also demonstrates the global value of BREEAM, which is further reinforced with the recent opening of our offices in China and Dubai.”

BREEAM is the internationally recognised measure of sustainability for buildings and communities. More than 530,000 certificates have been issued under BREEAM on more than 24,000 projects around the world, and over 2.2 million buildings and communities are registered for certification. BREEAM is used in more than 70 countries. More information at www.breeam.com.

BuildingWise provides sustainable building and facility operations consulting to corporations, institutions, and other organizations. BuildingWise has been helping clients transform their existing commercial structures into buildings that are more energy-efficient, environmentally sound and profitable for over 9 years. Combining a unique expertise in the LEED for Existing Buildings Rating System and BREEAM International Assessments with decades of experience in facility management, BuildingWise delivers focused, tailored sustainability program development and LEED certification strategies. More information at www.buildingwise.net.